


A Fresh Start

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Original Work
Genre: Arranged Marriage, M/M, Mpreg, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:07:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26923363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: Cam's plan to seduce his new fiance goes awry when Ansellus suggests an actual courtship.
Relationships: New King/His Cruel Older Brother's Widowed Husband
Comments: 4
Kudos: 101
Collections: Canon Ball 2020





	A Fresh Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StormyDaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormyDaze/gifts).



Cam stood in the corridor bracing himself. Ansellus was on the other side of the door, presumably waiting for him. His hand went to his belly, as though it had grown in the time it took him to go from his own chamber to Ansellus's. 

He needed to act quickly, or… well, he didn't know what would happen, but if Ansellus was anything like his brother it would be best not to dwell on it. It might have been Bors's child, but he still wanted it. 

Cam swallowed hard and knocked. He did not meet the eyes of the guards who bracketed the door like the torches above their heads. If he was to marry Ansellus, he would welcome the talk that the old king's widower was entering the new king's bedchamber right after he'd arrived back at the palace. And he had to marry Ansellus. 

There was a rustling on the other side of the door, and Ansellus himself opened it. At least, Cam assumed it was him—he looked enough like his brother that they were obviously related. He had the same square jaw and heavy brow, though his hair was longer, nearly to his shoulders and a bit shaggy in a way Bors would never have tolerated. He was unshaven and looked saddle sore. 

It appeared to take a beat for Ansellus to recognize him. "Come in," he said, stepping aside to admit Cam. "Camder. My condolences. I should have come to you as soon as I arrived." 

"No, Your Highness." He ducked his head. "I knew you would want to see me so I came to you."

"Quite. Drink?" Ansellus looked to the sideboard as though he expected to find something there; Cam knew the room had been hastily opened that day as word of Ansellus's party approaching the capital had reached the castle.

Of course, he'd had nothing to do with it beyond ordering it; he was still supposed to be in mourning. His stomach tightened again with dread. 

"I'll ring for something." 

"If you like, Your Highness." This had to happen quickly or he would miss his chance. "You have had a long journey. You must want to rest." He took a step closer.

"I do." Ansellus sat in one of the leather chairs that flanked the fireplace. "But I can't seem to sleep. I can't stop thinking about it." 

"It… it was quick, Your Highness. I don't think he suffered." Cam had watched rather dispassionately as Bors had choked on a fishbone. He had not been inclined to rush to save him. No one had; even his guard had acted suspiciously slowly. 

"A pity." Ansellus's gaze was far away and fixed on the fire. "I'm sorry. You were his husband. I shouldn't…" 

Cam tried to think quickly. Was this a test? To see if he was insufficiently loyal to Bors? "He will be missed." 

"By few, I'm sure." Ansellus let his head fall back against his chair. "I never wanted this, Camder. But now it is mine and I must rule." 

With that hanging in the air, Cam wasn't sure how he was going to seduce Ansellus tonight. He shifted again, hoping his loose robe hid his belly well enough. It had to happen as soon as possible if he was going to convince Ansellus he carried his child. Far earlier than the wedding. 

"You have my support, Your Highness."

"I don't want to rush you." Ansellus sat up, and in the torchlight, Camder suddenly saw him as handsome. There was no sound but the roar of the sea far below, crashing violently against the rocks. 

"Don't worry about that." Cam wanted to be rushed. He wondered what to do. He ought to have worn a skimpier chiton, but he'd been worried about concealing his pregnancy. "I look forward to our wedding." 

"Well, at any rate. I look forward to getting to know you." 

Getting to know him? "Yes, Your Highness."

"I tire of hearing that. Call me Ansellus." 

"Yes… Ansellus."

"Thank you, Camder. That certainly makes this easier." He flopped back in his chair again, the exhaustion showing on his face. "I have a mind to sleep right here. Forgive me for not being such a stimulating conversation partner, and I'm sorry to have kept you up. I appreciate your welcoming me." 

Cam supposed this was a signal to depart. He rose and bowed, cursing inwardly. It would have to be the next night.

**

Ansellus was there when Cam came down to breakfast the next day. It was a beautiful morning, the clear blue sky arcing over the sea outside the breakfast room, with a gentle breeze wafting through the open columns. The open-air palace on the sea was one of the things Cam had been most charmed by before his days had become nothing but darkness when he'd first learned the depths of Bors's cruelty. 

Breakfasting alone and then taking a walk by the sea had become his only respite. To see Ansellus here did not bode well. Especially since this was one of the first days he'd felt well enough to eat breakfast and take his walk, with his morning sickness and then Bors's funeral having kept him away. 

For his part, Ansellus looked slightly better in the clear light of day, Cam noted. He'd at least shaved and combed his hair, though it was still rather shaggy. It was such a contrast from Bors's meticulously close-cropped hair that he found he liked it. 

_Fool_ , he reminded himself. _You must be on your guard._

Ansellus got up when he entered and bowed. "Good morning, Camder."

Cam bowed, too. "Good morning, Ansellus." He took his usual seat, with Ansellus at the far end of the table. Ansellus was consulting scrolls brought by the morning runners while he ate, something Bors had never done. 

He sighed. "What I wouldn't give to be back at my post writing these reports, rather than reading them."

"Our wedding is to be the next new moon," Cam said, not wanting to envision a world where Bors was still alive, even if it meant Ansellus was still comfortably at his northern frontier fort. "As you missed the last one riding to meet me."

"I'm sorry about that. The roads, you see. Up north, they're bad at the best of time, and utterly dreadful in the spring." 

Cam could hardly be sympathetic. Those northern spring roads had potentially cost him the chance to get into Ansellus's bed before his pregnancy was obvious. His life or his child's might rest on mud in the farthest reaches of the empire. He couldn't help but be nervous. 

"My family will want us married sooner rather than later," he said cautiously. 

"Naturally. Your family has my full respect." Ansellus surely wanted access to the Orkanan mines, as much as Bors had. Cam was under no illusions their wedding was for any reason other than that.

Cam finished his breakfast without having to contribute anything else to the conversation; Ansellus was truly absorbed in his reports. Cam kept looking at him and he really was reading. Another difference from Bors. 

Cam hurried away as soon as the dishes were cleared, leaving his husband-to-be with his scrolls. 

He had not gotten far down the beach path when he heard the sound of sandals on gravel. 

"Do you mind if I join you?" 

_Could I say yes?_ "Not at all." 

Ansellus was smiling as he fell into step beside Cam. "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier."

"The king's death was very sudden."

"No, I mean before that. I ran back north after the wedding."

That caught Cam off guard. It was true, though. He had barely exchanged two words with Ansellus; he'd arrived right before the ceremony, they'd been introduced at the feast, and he'd been gone the next day. "Your work was there. You had to return." 

Ansellus paused, putting his hands behind his back. Despite his somewhat shabby appearance, he had a soldier's bearing. "Not as quickly as I strictly had to."

Cam did not know what to say to this. He was beginning to wonder if he'd been overly paranoid about Ansellus potentially testing his loyalty to Bors. But that was exactly the sort of mind games Bors would have played. Had played. He shuddered. He couldn't stop being careful now. 

"Your service on our northern frontier was valuable." 

Ansellus scoffed. "Like hell it was. I wanted to get as far away from Bors as possible." 

Cam's mouth went dry. "Will you be taking the king's bedchamber before the wedding or after?"

Ansellus gave him a questioning look. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I went too far. He was your husband after all. I won't move into his bedchamber until after the wedding. I suppose it wouldn't be proper for me to be so close to yours before we're married."

Cam swore inwardly again. If Ansellus cared so much for what was proper that he wouldn't even take a chamber in the same corridor, he wasn't likely to be agreeable to being seduced easily. "I suppose not."

"Do you come this way often?" Ansellus asked. 

"Every day." Cam decided to be slightly less guarded—he didn't want Ansellus to think he was closed-off; he certainly wouldn't seduce him by being silent and withdrawn. 

"It's a beautiful route. I used to come here before I left for the north." 

"When was that?" Cam couldn't help his own curiosity, even if the question as a bit forward. Let Ansellus think him forward if it got him naked and his cock in Cam's arse. 

"As soon as I was old enough for the service. I told you… well, I don't want to speak ill of your husband." 

"Of course not." Cam said this in a tight voice, hoping somehow to subtly broadcast that he would like nothing more than to speak ill of his husband. 

"I did love it," Ansellus went on. "The north is beautiful country, once you get used to the cold." 

With the warm breeze on his skin and his thin chiton, Cam couldn't imagine the north. He had been born and raised within ten leagues of this palace, and he'd never been farther than his family's villa. 

"That seems unpleasant." 

"You might see it. If I ever make a progress that far and you wanted to come with me."

 _If you wanted to come with me._ Bors would never have said that, that was certain. If Bors had been inclined to go anywhere, he would have pulled Cam along by threats or by force—or, more likely, Cam would have gone without being asked because that was easier than being made to. 

Ansellus was still talking—about northern mornings and seeing his breath, and going to the stables and seeing the horses' breath and watching the sunrise from the highest point of the fort. It all sounded nice and very cozy; Cam found himself almost wondering what it would be like, especially with a warm body next to his. A warm body he could stand being next to. 

But he had more pressing concerns. 

"Will you have dinner with me tonight?" He tried give him the eyes and stepped a little closer. The eyes had always worked on Bors, had always made him happy or prolonged the inevitable tirade. 

"Of course." Ansellus looked oblivious. "I took that as a foregone conclusion, if we're going to get to know each other." 

He would let Ansellus get to know him, he thought, if it got him into bed faster.

**

Dinner was on the balcony and was more of the same as on the beach. This time, Ansellus was talking about siege engines and their construction and different sorts of catapults. Bors might have liked the destruction of it all, but Ansellus was talking about angles and trajectories and momentum. It was clearly very interesting to him, and Cam couldn't follow a word of it. He didn't mind listening, though. 

The next day, he had breakfast sent to his room so he wouldn't have to deal with Ansellus and went to the library after so he could figure out what the hell he had been talking about. 

Ansellus found him, of course. Cam briefly braced himself for what would have been Bors's reaction, but it didn't come. 

He was beginning to think maybe Ansellus would never have Bors's reaction to things, which was usually loud or violent. Ansellus had been neither of these things in the few days they'd been together, and Bors could barely go twelve hours without hitting something. 

"What are you reading?" 

Cam thought it would be ridiculous at this point to slam the book shut and try to hide it. Instead, he slid it across the table to Ansellus. "Oh, Castertius," Ansellus said with fond recognition. "We had him at the military college." He then proceeded to explain in detail how every machine depicted on the page worked, complete with hand motions. 

Cam was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he was nothing like Bors at all. When he left the library, he realized he'd forgotten to be alluring.

**

Things like that kept happening. They ate breakfast together and then Ansellus accompanied him on his morning walk. 

"This is quite a trek," he observed on their way back one morning. "I consider myself close to peak physical condition but it seems my calves could be in better shape. Have you really been doing this every day?" 

"Every day I can manage it." He paused. "Bors did not like this path."

"I see." Ansellus ran a hand through his hair; Cam could now see the shagginess was on purpose. He really liked it now; he was on the verge of actually mentioning it. But he refrained. "He's not here anymore, you know." His hair flopped back onto his forehead. Cam's fingers itched to touch it. "You can do what you like. I'm not going to stop you."

Cam longed to interrogate this, to see how far his permissions truly ran. Surely there would be limits. 

"Do you play creseque?" 

Ansellus had clearly not expected this. He paused, hands in the air, making his casual stretch look ridiculous. "Yes." Cam hadn't asked the question because he had been in doubt; every military officer played creseque. He wanted to see what Ansellus's reaction would be.

"Teach me."

Bors would have laughed, or worse. Cam was a man of society, bred to attract an important spouse (which he'd done), birth an heir (which he had almost done), and be a pleasure to look at and be around (he had never been good at this). 

But Ansellus was not Bors. His face split into a smile. "All right," he said. "If you're sure." 

Cam wasn't sure, but he'd watched countless creseque matches in his life and he wanted to try it. 

**

The creseque court at the sea palace was in a grotto that had been carved out of the rock. The wind blew more wildly here and Cam almost regretted it when he walked onto the court. He'd examined himself in his creseque tunic and was satisfied that it did not betray his pregnancy.

He didn't think playing creseque could hurt the baby; light exercise had been the doctor's advice, in fact. And if Ansellus was teaching him creseque from the beginning, the exercise was sure to be light. 

"Cam?" 

Cam almost didn't notice what Ansellus had called him because Ansellus's appearance was so distracting. 

He was completely naked. 

Of course, that should have been expected for a creseque player, but Cam hadn't considered it. 

"I'm sorry," he said, looking abashed. "I assumed…" 

"That's all right." Cam allowed his eyes one sweep of Ansellus's body. "It is tradition, I suppose." 

And then he pulled off his own tunic.

Having spent his time on the frontiers of the empire and not at court, Ansellus had much less practice schooling his face. 

"You're…" 

"Yes."

"How long?" 

"It wasn't long before Bors died that I realized. I was waiting to tell him, waiting for a good time." 

"A safe time," Ansellus said woodenly. 

"Yes." There was no point in subterfuge now. 

Ansellus turned away from Cam and he tensed, but Ansellus lowered his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes. "I am sorry I left," he said. It was a strange conversation to have when they were both completely naked, but at least they were sure of privacy. He'd mentioned to his servant this morning that he was to play creseque with the king, and no doubt, assumptions had been made.

Cam sighed. "You couldn't have stopped him." 

"I know, but I might've… No matter. I'm here now and he's dead. Do you still want to marry me?" 

Cam was momentarily confused before he realized what was happening was that he was being offered a choice. An abrupt choice, but a choice nevertheless. 

"What if I said no?" 

"I would let you go wherever you liked with your child. I'd set up a palace for you and give you a generous allowance, anything you like." He paused. "But I'd be hoping you would say yes because I like you."

"What about the baby?" Cam asked quickly.

Ansellus gave him a crooked smile. "I would raise it with you. It would be my heir." 

The child was kicking him steadily now and Cam began rubbing his belly. 

"Are you up to playing?" 

"Yes." Cam dropped his hand, glad he would not be forced to decide right now. 

Ansellus went ridiculously easy on him, probably easier than he'd planned before he'd discovered his pregnancy. Cam couldn't blame him, and as much as he usually loathed being treated delicately, but this seemed sweet. 

And gently batting a ball back and forth gave him more of a chance to look at Ansellus's body, his arse, his firm thighs, and think about what would happen if he agreed to marry him. 

Ansellus was the one who suggested they take a break. Cam welcomed the opportunity to put his tunic back on, though he wasn't ashamed to notice Ansellus's lingering glance. He was glad to return to the privacy of his own room, too. He had a decision to make. 

**

Cam stood in the corridor in front of Ansellus's chamber for the second time, feeling perhaps more nervous than he had the first time. He knew Ansellus now. It seemed strange to say that, but he felt it was true. Bors had revealed his true colors on their wedding night. He'd had nothing to fear so far from Ansellus. Nothing whatsoever. 

And he'd offered him the choice.

Cam smiled. It had been an easy choice. 

He found Ansellus in front of the fire, book in hand. "Ah, Camder. I was hoping to see you tonight."

"Call me Cam," he said, allowing his heart to leap at the sentiment. "My friends do." _When I had them._

Ansellus laughed and set his book aside. "Is that what I am then? A friend?" 

"You'll be a better husband than I had before." Cam took the freeing up of his lap as an invitation to draw closer. The other chair was too far away so he perched on the arm of Ansellus's. "That ought to count for something." 

Ansellus settled his hand on Cam's hip. It was a tentative touch and Cam leaned into it, having experienced so few gentle touches. "So you're saying yes?"

Cam smoothed his hair back and kissed him. "I'm saying yes." 

Ansellus moved quickly so much that Cam tensed, but he gently eased Cam from the arm of the chair and into his lap. They did not break their kiss until Ansellus spoke. 

"Do you want to wait for the wedding?" Ansellus murmured in his ear.

"No." Cam was certain of that. He hadn't noticed in all the time he'd been trying to seduce Ansellus that he actually did want to sleep with him. 

Ansellus was kissing him, mouth leaving a hot trail down his neck. Bors had never done this. Bors would have had him on the bed by now, but Ansellus was almost infuriatingly slow. He seemed to want to take his time, but Cam's body had other ideas. He squirmed in Ansellus's lap, wanting him to feel his hardness. He didn't know what to say; there was little to say. 

"Come on," he said. "I meant it about not waiting for the wedding."

Ansellus grinned. He rose, lifting Cam deftly onto his feet. "Then let us go."

Ansellus's bed was by the window and there was a gentle breeze from the sea. He found himself glad that Ansellus hadn't taken the king's chambers yet; they would have to be completely redecorated before he would feel comfortable in there. In here, he could begin anew.

He let his robe slide off his shoulders as Ansellus kissed the newly exposed skin. He was glad he hadn't worn anything under it. He fumbled with Ansellus's tunic, wanting to get him

Fortunately, Ansellus realized this and they broke apart long enough that he could take it off himself. The rest of their clothes followed and next he knew, they were on the bed.

Ansellus's hand were impossibly gentle hands. They were deft and careful, as unlike Bors's as it was possible for a pair of hands to be. And while he'd initially thought the two brothers looked very much alike, he now found it easy to look at Ansellus and not see Bors. 

He brushed Ansellus's overlong hair back from his face. 

"Thank you," he said quietly. "For not being your brother."

Ansellus kissed him deeply. "You should not even have to say that. The rest of my life will be for making up for his sins."

"No," Cam said. "The rest of your life should be about the two of us. Being happy together." 

"The three of us." Ansellus kissed Cam's belly. "And more if you like." 

"And more." 

Ansellus continued kissing him, as though he wanted to mark every inch of Cam's body, to wash away all the memories that preceded him. 

He lavished attention with his mouth on Cam's cock, which was a new experience for him. He nearly came just from that, from the feeling of Ansellus's tongue running up and down the shaft and lazily circling the head. 

"Ansellus," he managed. "I do want you inside me." 

Ansellus released him. "Are you sure? I don't—"

"I'm sure." 

Ansellus moved off the bed and Cam squirmed with anticipation of the sound of the jar of oil. 

Ansellus's hands were gentle here, too; he was making absolutely certain that Cam was ready to take him before he gently eased inside. Cam braced himself for pain, but none came, only a pleasant pressure. 

Ansellus moved slowly and did not cease kissing him, his hand moving over Cam's belly. This was nothing like with Bors. 

And he thought no more of his former husband. That was one ghost forever banished from their bed. He pressed back against Ansellus's cock, wanting to show he did not require gentleness. It was a nice gesture, though, and Ansellus went on kissing the back of his neck as he fucked Cam, murmuring indistinguishable nothings against his skin. 

"Ansellus," he groaned. Cam's orgasm hit him like a cresting wave and he was shuddering insensibly, conscious only of Ansellus's gentle hand now covered with his seed. 

Ansellus lasted only a moment later before he was filling Cam, making him hope for one day in the future when this might happen again, when they might make a child. 

He was confident, though, of Ansellus's enthusiasm for the child he was carrying, Bors's child by blood, but Ansellus's in all ways that would ever matter. 

After Bors was finished, he had always sent Cam away, slinking to his bedchamber to try and get some sleep, having to avoid the pitying looks of the servants. This night, though he settled into Ansellus's arms when they opened. 

"When we move into the king's bedchamber," he said softly, "I think I might like to spend the night with you, if you would have me." 

Ansellus smiled. "I'd be happy to have you. You must never think anything else." 

There was more to say, but Cam decided not to spoil the moment with them. The babe was kicking steadily and Ansellus settled his hand over Cam's belly once more. Their fingers twined together. Feeling safe and protected, Cam allowed himself to slip into a contended sleep. There was much to be happy about and look forward to, and little now to worry him.


End file.
